ISTANBUL, Aug 19 (Bernama-Anadolu) — Amazon said on Wednesday that it plans to expand drone deliveries to nearly 500 cities and towns across the United States by the end of the year, Anadolu Ajansi reported.
The expansion signals progress for a project that has moved slowly since founder Jeff Bezos first unveiled his vision for the service nearly 13 years ago.
The expansion of Prime Air would increase its current reach sixfold, according to a company statement.
The announcement comes five months after David Carbon, Prime Air’s vice-president, expressed confidence in the programme and outlined ambitious expansion targets during an internal all-hands meeting, according to CNBC.
At the time, Carbon said Prime Air would complete one million deliveries this year and that Amazon had the “highest-demand drone delivery service in the industry”.
Amazon said on Wednesday that it had already completed hundreds of thousands of deliveries this year, with thousands taking place each day.
Bezos, who stepped down as CEO five years ago, announced in 2013 that Amazon would develop a drone network capable of delivering small packages within 30 minutes.
Since then, the initiative has encountered regulatory delays, workforce reductions, technical difficulties and resistance from some communities where Amazon conducted its early pilot programmes.
In 2024, the company received critical regulatory approval to conduct long-range drone deliveries and, over the past year, expanded beyond its initial markets near Dallas, Texas, and Phoenix, Arizona, to 11 metropolitan areas.
— BERNAMA-ANADOLU